Why support OzHarvest?

For some time now I desired to find ways to assist more people – not just via what I do with the individuals who come to NWS, Talks, Seminars or Private Sessions but with the broader community, and to encourage those who had benefited from their association with what we do to give back by passing it on to others in need.

At the NWS in October 2010 a client and trusted friend shared her desire to be of assistance and she is the one who brought OzHarvest to my attention. I felt immediately that this was what I had been looking for. The more we looked into what it was all about the more excited I became as they help so many in a wide range of circumstances.

The fact that there are real hands on ways to be involved as volunteers as a group or individually at times and in ways that best suit each of us was great.

Realising that each dollar would make such a difference to someone here in our own country, in our community and that the quality of the food being distributed was so good made the choice to do this an easy one.

- Roz Lawler

Donations can be made at A Night With Spirit each month and at Roz's clinic during Private Sessions. Volunteer forms are also available or you can contact OzHarvest directly.

  
 

About OzHarvest

OzHarvest is a charitable organization that rescues excess food from restaurants, retailers, food outlets and corporate kitchens that would otherwise be discarded and delivers it to charities that feed the disadvantaged and homeless.

Oz harvest is a simple, effective service and is provided free to both food donor and recipient. The food is picked up and delivered the same day using refrigerated vans with a changing daily schedule.

The work they do has a dual impact:

 
• By supplementing the nutritional wellbeing, dignity and health of at risk communities OzHarvest enables organizations to reduce their food budget and redirect their funding to education and rehabilitation.

 
• By ensuring that good food is being eaten rather than going into landfill OzHarvest is helping the environment by ensuring tons of carbon emissions do not pollute the atmosphere.

OzHarvest collects over 15 tonnes of excess food every week in Sydney alone!

Every donation of $1 allows them to deliver 1 additional meal to someone in need.

 
 

Where does the food go?

OzHarvest provides food to over 200 charities across Sydney and Wollongong, 46 in Canberra and Queanbeyan, and 31 in Newcastle. These charities provide support to many individuals in need, including:

 

• Children and youth at risk who may have been abused or have nowhere else to go
• Single parents with no support
• Older men and women who have trouble making ends meet
• Those who are homeless
• Marginalised indigenous men, women and children
• Refugees looking for a better life
• Those who are going through drug and alcohol rehabilitation
• Women who are escaping domestic violence; and
• Families with low incomes who need help to get by.

The only common feature across these charities is that they all support those who are vulnerable. OzHarvest provide food to the larger well known organisations like Mission Australia, the PCYC's, the Salvation Army and Youth off the Streets.

Equally they provide food to many small agencies dotted around Sydney – the type of charity that doesn't seek publicity. For example, a small women's refuge that doesn't advertise so that its details do not become widely known, or a small respite centre for children and teenagers escaping difficult home situations.

  
 

To find out more and learn how you can make a difference visit OzHarvest at www.ozharvest.org